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House passes eviction‑procedure changes after lawmakers remove 'reclamation' period; critics warn of constitutional risk
Summary
The House passed House Bill 7 67, altering eviction notice procedures and removing a reclamation period, a change that prompted at least one member to warn the measure may still conflict with constitutional limits cited by the Fourth Circuit.
The House of Delegates on March 20 passed House Bill 7 67, a measure that alters procedures for landlord‑tenant actions including notices related to writs of restitution and the timing of evictions.
On the floor the committee chair said the Senate "struck the reclamation period that we spent so much time discussing on the house floor" and changed notice provisions, creating more local flexibility in the notice period. "So the senate struck the reclamation period... they altered the notice part of the bill which didn't get nearly as much interest on the floor but they made that so there's sort of local flexibility for how long the notice period is," the chair said.
A fellow delegate raised constitutional concerns: "No. I'm actually quite concerned it is now, continues to be unconstitutional. It's certainly not in compliance with what the Fourth Circuit said ... However, it is, April, and this does improve the notice period, and so we're choosing to concur but recognizing we'll probably be back here in the future, for a constitutional fix," the speaker said.
What the bill does: According to remarks on the floor, the Senate removed the reclamation period (a provision previously discussed in the House) and the amended bill instead sets a flexible notice requirement. The committee chair explained the notice is an advance posting by the sheriff that can range by local decision from four to 14 days for a writ of restitution; the sheriff posts the notice and then executes the eviction sometime after that period depending on workload.
Floor action and vote: The House concurred in the Senate amendments and declared House Bill 7 67 passed after the roll call. The Clerk announced "There being 97 votes in the affirmative" and the bill was declared passed.
Why it matters: Lawmakers and advocates have previously debated the reclamation period, which provided tenants a specified opportunity to reclaim personal property after eviction. The transcript records a member saying the change likely leaves the bill in tension with a Fourth Circuit decision and that additional legislative work to fix constitutional issues is probable.
Next steps: With the House's concurrence and passage, the bill proceeds to enrollment and transmittal; lawmakers indicated they may return in a future session for a constitutional fix on the reclamation issue.
